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I wouldn't have guessed this was your first attempt using a graphic tablet, Clavius really pops out with a nice 3D, natural look. Look forward to seeing more of your renderings once you get used to your new equipment!

An outstanding observation/rendering of Clavius and environs. Even more impressive when you consider it to be your first graphics tablet observation. I love my graphics tablet as well. Thank you for sharing it with us all.

Thanks all - the graphic tablet I use is called a Bamboo Pen - I picked one up for 40$ - and its like a small mouse mat that attaches to a usb port and replaces the computer mouse. The pen offers finer control for drawing lines etc in Photoshop than the mouse. I scan my sketch made at the scope (which is quite detailed but full of annotations of greyscale shading codes or comments about features etc). I then set up in Photoshop a set of layers for each type of feature (crater rims, crater shadows, walls, etc etc) and trace the original drawn (but now digitised) sketch. I then simply add shades and fills as I recall them from my notes, integrate the full set of layers and blur the final result. Why blur? I want to get the feel of the image I saw in the eyepiece (I use a highish mag at the scope and so while the finished photoshop scene would normally be a "sharp" end product this is not realistic for my observation so I take off the edges to give the truer feel). I tried this same technique with a mouse but it was very fiddly - the bamboo pen feels more natural. Of course I am still a novice with Photoshop and have no idea what half the menus mean - I use the same basic sets of pallets for my drawings - if I wanted it to be photographic quality I would buy a camera ;-).

For me the joy of sketching is to use the time to appreciate the object and to record -in as honest a way as possible - what was "seen" through the eyepiece.